Ayam Rica Rica (Spicy Indonesian Chicken)

A bowl of Indonesian Ayam Rica Rica. A lime segment sits alongside as a garnish.

No ratings yet

Ayam Rica Rica (Spicy Indonesian Chicken)

For a fiery burst of spice, this ayam rica rica from Indonesia is the tastiest, most memorable chicken curries. Packed with heat, but also a tonne of fragrance from ginger, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Beyond delicious!

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indonesian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings:

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

2.2 lb chicken pieces (leg and thigh separated, bone in, skin off)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
2 red onions (chopped, around 1 cup)
4 slices ginger
4 garlic cloves (peeled)
10 long red chillies (chopped, stalks discarded)
8 Thai (birds eye) chillies (chopped, stalks discarded)
2 tomatoes (medium sized or 1 large)
6 kaffir lime leaves
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 lemongrass stalks use 1-3 stalks depending how thick they are, less if they're thicker.
1 tsp sugar
1 lime juice of

Instructions

Sprinkle the salt and turmeric over the chicken pieces. Stir well and set aside.
Add the onion, ginger, garlic, chillies, tomatoes and 4 of the kaffir lime leaves (chopped) to a deep jug, if you're using a stick blender or to a food processor/blender. Blend until smooth.
Add the oil to a pan and heat over a medium/high heat until hot. Pour in the chilli paste and let it sizzle. Stir for 3-4 minutes to cook out the paste.
Add the chicken, lemongrass and remaining lime leaves to the pan and stir well for 1-2 minutes.
Pour in about 14oz/400ml of water and the sugar to balance out the flavour and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce gently bubble for 30 minutes, uncovered until the chicken is cooked through and sauce reduced.
If the sauce is still very runny, turn up the heat and bubble fiercly for 2-3 minutes until a little thicker. It should be fairly loose and not too thick.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Serve hot with lots of fluffy jasmine rice.

Notes

Serve this curry alongside freshly cooked jasmine rice (maybe coconut rice).
I like to serve a cooling element to this curry to help counter the fiery sauce. At its simplest, I'll add a few slixes of fresh cucumber and tomato to the side. I'll also often make a simple chopped salad of cucumber, tomato and cilantro or Thai basil (holy basil) with a little lime juice and serve it in a bowl for everyone to help themselves to.

This dish is often served with Thai basil (holy basil) stirred into the sauce for more fragrance. Try this for a variation and see what you think. Add at the end when you add the lime juice.

You can keep this in the fridge for 5 days in airtight containers. In the freezer for 3+ months in single portions in old airtight take-out containers. Be sure to reheat until piping hot. If you're reheating from frozen, add 1/4 cup water to the top before reheating to avoid it drying out.

Nutrition